IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 5 February
05-02-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Iona shares rise on takeover rumours | News Corp says it won't bid for Yahoo
The Irish Times reports that Google has entered the fray in Microsoft's unsolicited USD44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, suggesting it would hamper the openness of the internet. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also reports that shares in struggling software firm Iona Technologies rose more than 10 percent in Dublin on Monday following speculation that it could be the subject of a takeover bid. A spokeswoman for Iona said the company has a policy of not commenting on rumours or speculation. She said the group has a strategy and approach to the market which it believes will make it successful in 2008 and it is focusing on executing that plan.
The Irish Independent says that e-payments firm Payzone, which was restrained by the High Court from treating its chief executive and chief financial officers as having been dismissed, has announced its shares are likely to remain suspended until the release of a trading update "in due course". The shares were originally withdrawn from trading on London's Alternative Investment Market almost three weeks ago pending the outcome of proceedings.
The same paper notes that Dublin-based software firm Sportinglot has raised over EUR500,000 from Aidan Harrison, a low-profile Irish property millionaire. Sportinglot, which was established in 2005 by brothers Ken and Vincent Coldrick, enables betting exchange customers to view multiple markets such as Betdaq and Betfair simultaneously.
The Irish Examiner reports that the rate of spam targeting Irish e-mail users rose to 63.28 percent in January, according to IE Internet. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also notes that AIB has warned customers against a series of fraudulent e-mails targeting account holders. The e-mails claim to come from AIB and ask online banking customers to give details such as personal access codes.
The same paper says that Gardai have sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions following an investigation into an alleged black market supply of TV services. Gardai seized 70 television receivers and other computer hardware equipment during a search of a premises in Finglas, north Dublin, last year. Gardai believe the equipment was used to illegally access and distribute NTL and Chorus channels.
According to the Financial Times, China has banned privately-owned companies from entering the country's fast-growing online video sector, but it will allow existing providers to continue to operate as long as they carefully monitor footage posted on their websites. The move highlights Beijing's efforts to tighten controls on internet content amid concerns that local online video websites modelled on YouTube are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional state television.
The paper also says that News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch has disavowed any interest in making a bid for Yahoo to counter the unsolicited offer from Microsoft. "We are definitely not going to make a bid for Yahoo," Murdoch said, as the company announced that its fiscal second quarter profits edged up 1.2 percent to USD832 million. His comments were at odds with recent speculation that News Corp was preparing to enter the battle for Yahoo, in part to protect its MySpace social networking site. MySpace uses Yahoo for its search advertising, and News Corp last year proposed a possible merger of the internet companies.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 